Strip record supporting and driving apparatus



Patented Jan. 28, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcE,

STRIP RECORD SUPPORTING AND DRIVING APPARATUS Edward W. Kellogg, Moorestown, N. J., assignor to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application July 2, 1932, Serial N0. 620,689

' 9 Claims. (Cl. 271-23) uniform speed irrespective of brief variations in the speed of the driving system and whereby tendency of the rotational parts to oscillate at at a frequency dependent on their natural vi bratlon period may be overcome. A further object is the provision of a film sup- ...porting and film drive mechanism wherein the principle .of `a fly-ball rtype governor is utilized to stabilize the'iilm speed. l

I have shown my invention as applied to a de- -vice in which the, film is supported and progressed by a rotating cylindrioalgsurface. While it'is preferable that vthe record be made on the film, or reproduced therefrom, vat a point within the arc of contact between the lm and the said j rotating cylindrical surface, my invention is equally applicable todevices wherein the sup- -port of the film at the recording or reproducing vpoint is otherwise provided, as for example by a gate or skid.`

y The present'invention is particularly concerned with the provision of inexpensive means for' pro- 3o ducing uniform lmotion of the film. The movement of film produced by a sprocket, the sprocket being driven through gears or belts or both fromV a motor, is not sufficientlyV steady for satisfactory lreproduction of musicheven though the motor speed be constant.l Imperfections in gears and joints in belts cause changes in sprocket speed.

It is diicultto obtain a sprocket which is suciently freefiom inaccuracies, and finally even' a perfectly formed sprocket running at'constant 40 speed would not produce uniform film motion unless the pitch of the film perforations is exactlyl equal to the sprocket tooth pitch, a condition which is rarely met owing to the varying shrinkage of films. As a means of improving the steadi'- i5 nessl of film motion, use has been made of a smooth, cylindrical drum on the shaft lofwhich.

is a flywheel, the lmbeing held against the drum by one or more pressure rollers. The film lis pulled bythe sprocket and the tension -on that part oi the filmA between the drum and the sprocket causes the drum and flywheel to rotate. AThis .arrangement is helpful but a practical difiiculty arises. If a very light lflywheel is used, the drum runs easily but the fiywheel effect is inadequate. As the size ofthe iiywheel i s increased the bearing friction becomes greater and the film tension is increased. The tighter the film, the more forcibly it transmits jerks from the sprocket to the drum and the result is that even -the large flywheel undergoes objectionable accel- 5 erations, or 'else the film slips on the drum, either of which defeats the lpurpose sought.

One method which has been employed to reduce the violence of jerks on the fllm 'is to pass A the film over a spring-supported roller arranged 10 between the drum and the sprocket. While such an arrangement is advantageous in increasing the flexibility, it has been found that under certain 'to oscillate or hunt and to relieve the film of a largepart ofthe Work of driving the flywheel or 20 inertia element which is utilized to stabilize'the film speed. In this arrangement the speed of the drum support must be able tov adjust itself in accordance with shrinkage of the film. When the film is shrunk and lower speed is needed the 25 slip between `the magneticdrive and the iiywheel increases, the magnetic drive supplying slightly more torque and the film slightly less torque. The property ofv this auxiliary drive which is essential for proper drum speed adjustment and v30 for dampingv out oscillations is that the torque supplied by the auxiliary drive `should increase continuously with increasing slip. The'functio'n 1 of the arrangement described by the aforesaid application is entirely satisfactory from an o p- `35 erational viewpoint,v but has the disadvantage thatA Y it is somewhat expensive to construct.

In accordance with the present invention,` the necessary continuous change of drag with slip is obtained by employing the principal of a fiy- 40 ball type governor.' In, its simplest form this arrangement involves the mounting of several weights on the fiywheel by means of springs'and providing the ends of the springs with shoes which bear on a cylinder driven somewhat faster than the flywheel.; When the flywheel is stationary, the shoes are pressed with full force against the 'driving cylinder .and a relatively strong torque is exerted to accelerate the4 flywheel. As the 50 flywheel speeds up, the pressure of the shoes on the cylinder is decreased by the fly-ball governor action and the torque supplied to the flywheel is correspondingly decreased. In order to make element may be madeconical so as to permit it to be adjusted axially.

If the film drum speed is lowrit is desirabie `to have the y-ball device run at a higher speed.

It may be geared tothe flywheel and, if desired. aiiltering spring maybe arranged to communicate torque from a driving gear which is concentric with the fiywheel. Under these conditions,

the damping or anti-hunting properties of the governor will still be effective although slightly less so than without the spring. One of the advantages of gearing up the governor is that variations in friction during one revolution of the governor oc'cur. at a high frequency and, therefore, will eil'ect flywheel speed less.

'I'he invention will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of a device wherein the ily-ball element is mounted on the flywheel,

Fig. 2'is a sectional view of a modified arrangement wherein the flywheel is driven through a resilient coupling and the ily-ball device is mounted on a gear rotated at a speed somewhat higher than that of the flywheel, and

Fig. 3 shows a modified film drive apparatus which diiers from that of Fig. 2 more particulariy with respect to the arrangement of the flyball frictional element.

The apparatus illustrated by- Fig. l inciudes a Elm drumV I which is driven by a gear I I through gears I2 and I3, a frictional coupling including fry-ball members i4 and a conical friction drum I5 with which these members cooperate, and a flywheel I6 which is mounted on the same shaft I'I as the drum III. For the purpose of adjusting the drive torque exerted through the frictional coupling between the cone i5 and the flyball members I4, the conical member I5 and the gear I3 are arranged to slide axially on a fixed bushing I8 surrounding the shaft I1, this adjustment being made by a pivoted control member I9 which cooperates with a groove in the gear hub as illustrated. l

It will be readily understood that the flywheel I6 and the drum I0 are subjected to a torque dependent both en the ywheel speed and on'v the 'adjustment of the member I9. This torque is,

of course, a maximum vwhen the flywheel is stationaryand is a minimum at the maximum speed of the flywheel. At intermediate speeds the driving torquey is dependent en the flywheel speed.A

The apparatus illustrated by Fig. 2 differs from -that of Fig. l1 in that the flywheel I6 is coupled to a gear 2li through a resilient coupling 2|, and that driving torque is supplied to the gear 20 through a gear 22, a gear 23 provided with conical surface 24 and y-ball elements 25 which are mounted on a gear 26 arranged to mesh with the gear 20. Adjustment of the torque exerted through frictional coupling 24-25 is effected by a control lever 21 which is pivoted at 28 and arranged 'to cooperate with a groove in the hub of the gear 23. v

As previously indicated, this modification of the invention has the advantage that the frictional surfaces operate ata speed which is relatively high with respect to that of the flywheel I6 and the variations in frictional torque occur at such a high frequency that their effect on the ywheel speed is minimized or substantially obviated.

Another advantage of operatingythe fly-ball members at higher rotational speed is that the centrifugal force is thereby greatly increased and it becomes much easier to secure the desired control witnout resort to heavy fly-balls. 5

The modification illustrated by Fig. 3 differs from thatof-Fig. 2 in that driving torque is supplied directly from a motor 29 to the hub of the gear 20 through a belt 30. means 3| being provided for the purpose of adjusting the tension of this belt. The belt is designed to slip continuously thus providing a'uniform but adjustable forward torque. Since the belt is dry the frictional torque is not dependent on relative speed and the belt friction does not'provide damping. Damping torque for the suppression of oscillations is supplied to the gear through ,a gear 32, ily-ball members 33 and a disc 34 arranged to engage a frictional element 35 mounted on a control member 35 which is pivoted at 3l. In this modification of the invention as in that illustrated by Fig. 2 the friction'ai variations due to imperfections in the sliding ele ments occur at a relatively high speed so that their eect on the speed of the flywheel is miniE 25 mized. Damping out of oscillations results from the properties of the governor by which any in crease in speed of the flywheel I6 results in an increase in the braking effect of the governor. In operation the forward torque supplied through the belt is balanced against the frictional losses in the mechanism plus the retarding drag of the governor, in such a way that'the film has very little forward or retarding force to supply, and therefore operates with slack-loops and does not transmitany appreciable disturbances from the sprockets to the drum. The adjustment may be made either by means of the belt tightener'SI or of the governor contreil device 38.

It is obvious that thevariation in friction by which the governor controls the torque, orby .which the adjustment of torque is made, may depend on changes in the .pressure between the rubbing surfaces, asl in the arrangements illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, or the friction torque may be varied by varying the radius from the axis of rotation at which a brake shoe is applied, or the friction may be varied by altering the area of contact between the rubbing surfaces', as for example by changing the overlap between a stati'onary and a moving surface. TheI last mentioned method of controlling the magnitude of the friction, is especially effective if the surfaces are oily or greasy. Control by change of pressure on the other hand is most effective if the surfaces are' substantially unlubricated. Control by change of radius is effective whether the surfaces are lubricated or not.

It will be readily understood that the various forms of the invention may be utilized for driving any type' of record where a very uniform speed is required and that they have particular utility in the recording and reproduction of sound from a strip record such as a photographic film. 55

I claim:

1. The combination of afilm support, driving means for moving said film, inertia means arranged to move with said support, and a variablefrlctioncoupling interposed between said driving means and said support, whereby a frictional driving torque dependent on the speed of said inertia means is imparted to said support.

2. The combination of a film support, driving .means for said support, inertia means arranged said inertia means.

3. 'I'he combination of a -iilm drum, inertia means rigidly coupled to said drum, driving means actuated at a greater speed than the inertia means, and a fly-ball coupling interposed between said driving means and said drum.

4. The combination of a. lm drum, inertia means rigidly coupled to said drum, driving means, a fly-ball coupling interposed between said driving means and said drum, and arranged to be driven at a speed higher than that of said drum.

5. The combination of a record support, inertia means arranged to move with said support, driving means, a speed responsive frictional coupling interposed between said driving means and saidV support, and means for adjusting the torque transmitted through said coupling.

6. The combination of a nlm drum, inertia means arranged to move with said drum, driving means, and speed .responsive frictional means arranged to control the torque applied by said driving means to said drum during normal operation.

7. The combination of a record support, inertia means arranged to move with said support, driving means actuated at a greater speed than the inertia means, a resilient coupling between said driving means and said support, and speed responsive frictional means arranged to control the torque applied through said resilient coupling.

8. 'I'he combination of a record support, inertia means arranged to move with said support, driving means actuated at a greater speed than the inertia means, a resilient coupling between said driving means and said support, speed responsive frictional means arranged to control the torque applied through said resilient coupling, andmeans for adjusting the influence of said frictional means.

9. The combination of a record support, driving means therefor, and adjustable speed respon- 20 sive friction means whereby the torque supplied to the record support by said driving means can be controlled.

EDWARD W. KELLOGG. 

